By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Dwight Schrute would hate Rainn Wilson.
Besides loving beets, the two share little in common – though Dwight would probably appreciate the fact that Wilson married a woman with horses, pigs and donkeys.
“He’d like to ride all of them, and eat all of them,” Wilson surmised Thursday evening during a visit to Bowling Green State University’s Stroh Center.
Wilson, who played the peculiar and paranoid Dwight Schrute on “The Office” for nine seasons, channeled his Dunder Mifflin character and shared his own spiritual beliefs with an audience filled with fans of his acting and his writing.
The author, actor, director and podcaster sat on stage with BGSU Student Leadership and Civic Engagement Director Jacob Clemens, who peppered him with questions about the Emmy-winning comedy and his current efforts to lead a purposeful life and help others to do the same. Clemens immediately disclosed his fan status, having a Dwight bobblehead and deciding “she’s the one” about his future wife when their second date consisted of watching “The Office.”
Wilson’s talk was sprinkled with Dwightisms like “identity theft is not a joke,” and “the black bear is the best – fact.”
An admirer of the British version of “The Office,” Wilson was thrilled to try out for a role in the American rendition. In preparation, he reportedly went to a barber and asked for the worst haircut possible.
While shooting the pilot, Wilson recalled grabbing a bite to eat at a cheap diner with fellow cast members, when Steve Carell predicted the show could be the defining show for all of them. Wilson, eating his frugal tuna sandwich, was just hoping he’d be able to pay off his student loans.
But the show was an immediate and long hit.
For nine seasons, Dwight made audiences cringe with his lack of social skills, love for martial arts, office rivalries, and romantic relationship with Angela. An aficionado of paintball, Battlestar Galactica, survivalism and karate, Dwight had weapons hidden throughout the Dunder Mifflin office. And he didn’t hesitate to use the pepper spray, nunchaku, throwing stars and boomerang when necessary.
His character craved authority over his co-workers, and was skilled at framing people and animals for his mistakes.
At the same time, Dwight was gullible and easily pranked when his nemesis Jim put his desk supplies in the vending machine, his stapler in jello, and his desk in the restroom.
Using a Venn diagram, Wilson was asked to list the commonalities with his character. The shared space was pretty empty except for their intensity, social awkwardness and being “good with the ladies.”
“We’re pretty different other than that,” Wilson said. “Dwight would hate me.”
Wilson talked about the physicality required for his role, especially in the episode where they played football in the office, when he knocked Stanley off his feet and tackled Ryan.
“I was frequently hurting people on the set” – throwing sand in eyes or snowballs at heads. “There were a lot of walking wounded on that set.”
And there were some miscalculations that made filming trying on some days. The conference room on the show was far too small to be jammed with 16 people who might be filming scenes in there 12 hours a day. “It got ripe,” Wilson said.
During a lightning round of questions, Wilson shared the following:
- “Dwangela,” the relationship between Dwight and Angela, was definitely the best couple on the show. While the relationship between Pam and Jim may have been a fan favorite, Wilson said “who cares,” with his Dwightish smirk.
- The best character development involved Ryan the temp. “That was really a hoot.”
- The actor most like his character in real life is Creed.
- His favorite episode was “The Injury” during which Michael burns his foot on a George Foreman grill and Dwight gets a concussion while rushing to rescue his boss.
- His favorite quote from the series finale came from Andy, who said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
- When the show ended, Wilson took home Dwight’s eyeglasses and nameplate.
- Yes, he stays in touch with cast members. Carell and his wife recently helped to raise funds for one of Wilson’s causes – providing education to girls in rural Haiti. And he just recently met Angela for a game of tennis.
- Trip Adviser used to list Schute Farms, Dwight’s beet farm bed-n-breakfast, as an actual destination. “I think it could really take off,” Wilson said.
- No, the beet industry has not approached Wilson about being a spokesperson. “I have not heard from the beet industry. I need to figure out how to cash in,” Wilson said.
Since the series ended in 2014, the now 60-year-old Wilson has moved on to more serious pursuits. He has sworn off wearing Dwight’s go-to workwear of brown suits and mustard shirts. “No more,” he said.
Wilson has since written books including “Soul Boom: Why we need a spiritual revolution,” “Soulpancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions,” and “The Bassoon King,” the last which elicited a smattering of applause from the audience.
“Twenty-seven people read it. Thank you,” he said.
And he has a “Soul Boom” podcast, where he has conversations with artists, thinkers and doers about thinking deeply, finding purpose and spirituality.
Wilson has returned to the Bahai faith, which he was raised in as a child. The inclusive faith encourages unification of all humankind through mutual respect.
“I always had these ideas percolating in the back of my mind,” he said, and his fame from “The Office” paved the way for him to write books and do podcasts.
Wilson talked about his experience with depression for a period while working on “The Office.”
“I was really deeply unhappy,” and became dependent on drugs, alcohol, sex and porn, he said. “Only real rich people went to therapy.”
While people would yell “I love you” on the streets, Wilson knew it was Dwight, not him, who they were professing their love to.
Wilson found himself always wanting more. If only he made more money, lived on a different cul-de-sac, married someone else. “Success doesn’t fix what’s broken in you.”
So he began looking for spiritual solutions, reading the Quran, the Bible, the holy book of Buddhism and more. When he returned to the teachings of Bahai, he found peace.
“There’s so much to be thankful for,” he said.
Instead of “building bombs and missiles, and blowing each other up,” humans should be focusing on compassion and mutual service, and ridding the world of racism, sexism and income inequality.
He expressed his concern for young people, like many in his BGSU audience. He cited a statistic that one in five young people have considered suicide. The pressures from social media, political division, and climate hopelessness can be overwhelming.
Wilson cited a statistic that 40% of young people don’t believe in a better future. “That’s staggering,” he said.
One of his recent podcasts focused on forgiveness. “People are not very good at forgiving,” he said. Instead, they tend to keep tallies in their heads of those who they feel wronged by.
“Love thine enemies as thyselves,” he said. “Turn on the news. There’s not a lot of people loving others right now.”
Wilson stressed the need for deep thinking and soul searching.
“People need to think about the meaning of life,” he said.
He also acknowledged that Dwight would not appreciate his podcasts, picturing Dwight telling his guests, “You’re an idiot.”
But Dwight might have had the right idea about a couple things, Wilson said. Now would be a great time for a spiritual revolution – with a melding of Kung Fu and Star Trek.
